Fritz RPM and high Mg

[jtl]

I have been using Fritz RPM for about a year and have probably gone through 5 boxes. My numbers have been as expected for this product which is Ca 440, Alk 8-9 and mg of 1425. My last box is has raised my Ca to 550 and my Mg to 1700, my Alk was 9. I am using the Salifert test kits. I checked the make up water and it matched my tank water numbers, I checked my refractometer for calibration and it was fine. I even opened a new Mg test kit, same results.

I contacted the company and they pretty much said it cannot be a problem on their end since the double check the mixture. Until this latest problem I have really liked the product but I am reluctant to purchase a new box in case it has the same high levels of Mg. How harmful is high Mg? I have noticed some recession on one of my acans but it may be from something else.

Has anyone else had this problem with Fritz RPM? They are kind of a new manufacturer but are gaining some shelf space in lfs. The other thing that they do is charge $11 more per box if you want the salt in 4 bags instead of one. What a stupid idea.

 

[Crabs McJones]

I have been using Fritz RPM for about a year and have probably gone through 5 boxes. My numbers have been as expected for this product which is Ca 440, Alk 8-9 and mg of 1425. My last box is has raised my Ca to 550 and my Mg to 1700, my Alk was 9. I am using the Salifert test kits. I checked the make up water and it matched my tank water numbers, I checked my refractometer for calibration and it was fine. I even opened a new Mg test kit, same results.

I contacted the company and they pretty much said it cannot be a problem on their end since the double check the mixture. Until this latest problem I have really liked the product but I am reluctant to purchase a new box in case it has the same high levels of Mg. How harmful is high Mg? I have noticed some recession on one of my acans but it may be from something else.

Has anyone else had this problem with Fritz RPM? They are kind of a new manufacturer but are gaining some shelf space in lfs. The other thing that they do is charge $11 more per box if you want the salt in 4 bags instead of one. What a stupid idea.

Just so I understand correctly, your levels in the tank were calc 440, alk 8-9, and mg of 1425, and the water change water you made up matched those parameters but after you added it to your tank your levels shot up to the 550, 1700 and 9?

 

[jtl]

Just so I understand correctly, your levels in the tank were calc 440, alk 8-9, and mg of 1425, and the water change water you made up matched those parameters but after you added it to your tank your levels shot up to the 550, 1700 and 9?

No, no. My historical params were about Ca 450-500, Alk 8-9 and Mg 1400-1500. When I started using the most recent box of Fritz my tank levels went up to Ca 550 and Mg 1700. I checked the make up water and they were about the same, meaning this box is much higher than they advertise. My RODI water is zero TDS.

 

[Mortie31]

If I understand what you have written , the levels of fresh mixed water and your tank match, 550 Ca, 1770 mg, did you change 100% of your tank water? As even if your fresh mix was high, your tank water should be lower unless you have done multiple water changes... maybe test kit issues

 

[Crabs McJones]

No, no. My historical params were about Ca 450-500, Alk 8-9 and Mg 1400-1500. When I started using the most recent box of Fritz my tank levels went up to Ca 550 and Mg 1700. I checked the make up water and they were about the same, meaning this box is much higher than they advertise. My RODI water is zero TDS.

Oh, ok, got it Are you still using the blue box or the red box?

 

[jtl]

I have done several W/C and because my big 3 have been so stable I have not checked them for a while and when I did I discovered this issue. My numbers may not match the make up water point for point but is close. In my mind the issue is why is the mix so high, especially the Mg. That is troubling and gives me pause about spending $60 for another box only to have the same problem. It also bothers me that the manufacturer will take no responsibility and even told me that in the past when people have reported numbers that were different from the theirs it was due to salinity errors. I would have been glad to send a sample to Fritz and let them test it, I would think they would be interested.

I am also interested in what high Mg can do to corals.

 

[happyhourhero]

I used a box and it had high mg. I was contacted by the company since I said as much on Facebook and was told that it was user error and/poor test kits.

 

[jtl]

I used a box and it had high mg. I was contacted by the company since I said as much on Facebook and was told that it was user error and/poor test kits.

Kind of an arrogant response for a company that is trying to compete with some very big and well funded names in the salt business. A good company would want to get to the bottom of the problem and ask the user to send back the product for testing and give them a replacement.

 

[RobZilla04]

A quick search revealed this thread https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/high-magnesium.349981/

In that thread Randy mentions Mg levels of 1650 shouldn't harm any coral as folks have boosted to that level to treat bryopsis. You may see inverts acting sluggish though.

 

[happyhourhero]

They went so far as to look up my post history in the group and found a high mg related question from over a year ago to further drive the point home that it was my error.

 

[Mortie31]

I have done several W/C and because my big 3 have been so stable I have not checked them for a while and when I did I discovered this issue. My numbers may not match the make up water point for point but is close. In my mind the issue is why is the mix so high, especially the Mg. That is troubling and gives me pause about spending $60 for another box only to have the same problem. It also bothers me that the manufacturer will take no responsibility and even told me that in the past when people have reported numbers that were different from the theirs it was due to salinity errors. I would have been glad to send a sample to Fritz and let them test it, I would think they would be interested.

I am also interested in what high Mg can do to corals.

I’ve been there with both AF for Zinc and brightwell Neomarine for Selenium, both manufacturers did exactly as fritz and denied all responsibility.. so I changed back to red sea blue bucket

 

[gcarroll]

Fritz is not a new company. They have been around for a very long time. They were the OEM for other companies prior to going at it with their own brand.

Every salt manufacturer I know recommends that you mix the entire contents of the bag in one batch. There is a reason for this. They can only tell you the parameters that the salt will mix to based on the entire contents. Maybe that extra $11 should be worth it for someone such as you. They cannot guarantee consistency if you are only using part of the bag at one time due to settling. It's really hard for a large company to mess up a batch of salt. Typically all the elements are added by weight.

I called Fritz to inquire about their salt process. They make the salt in 2000 lb batches. For QC, they take a sample from the 1st box and the 20th box. They said they are more than willing to take a sample of your salt and test it. They have also gone as far to ship boxes all across the country and them ship them back to insure that the product is consistent and saw minimal to no settling issues.

 

[Caravanshaka]

Here is my ICP test of a fresh batch of Fritz RPM Pro (note, ALK was not tested):

http://lab.atiaquaristik.com/share/0f922a60ed3f14f518d9

The results of the freshly mixed water were eye opening. Bromine and Fluoride non-existent....Lithium and Silicon lacking...Iodine, Barium, Manganese and Molybdenum all highly elevated. I did buy the box with 4 individual bags, and mixed the entire bag at once, so no "settling" issues

I contacted Fritz with the results and they told me to just return it to the vendor...quote from Mike Noce of Fritz: "I would suggest bringing back the box to who you bought from to see about a refund. we have had zero complaints about these minor trace elements."

They are dismissing it as a non-issue and suggesting the vendor takes the hit on a return.

In addition to this, I was one of the winners of a Fraghouse Corals raffle at their last live sale, and won a Food Package from Fritz. Brandon set me up with a rep from Fritz to get the raffle worked out, and it after a few back and forths they stopped responding to me. I got another name at Fritz from Brandon and the same thing happened. It has now been a few months and I never got anything from Fritz. Brandon ended up giving me a gift card to Fraghouse for the trouble which was awesome of him, but it is another example of Fritz making the vendor take the hit on something that was their fault.

 

[jtl]

Fritz does not say to mix the entire batch at once. Who is to say there is even uniformity between the 4 bags. I am not paying and extra $11 to have the box separated into 4 bags. I have been in this hobby since 1985 and never run into this problem. I will just buy another brand and continue to tell people what I think of them. Sounds like I am not the only one having problems.

 

[jtl]

Oh, ok, got it Are you still using the blue box or the red box?

Blue box. Like I said every box prior to this one was well within their stated params. Even opened a new test kit and got the same results.

 

[Velcro]

Been there. High mag and high calcium. Contacted them, they said they quality control never saw these results and it's probably just the inaccuracy of home test kits. They sent me a free box and boom, same figh numbers. So I went out and bought a bucket of aquavitro salinity and my "inaccurate home test kits" read within 10% of the claimed batch numbers on the bucket. Buhbye fritz.

 

[jtl]

Been there. High mag and high calcium. Contacted them, they said they quality control never saw these results and it's probably just the inaccuracy of home test kits. They sent me a free box and boom, same figh numbers. So I went out and bought a bucket of aquavitro salinity and my "inaccurate home test kits" read within 10% of the claimed batch numbers on the bucket. Buhbye fritz.

They are a crappy company. All marketing hype and no substance. Never again.

 

[Velcro]

They are a crappy company. All marketing hype and no substance. Never again.

Kinda the vibe I get

 

[ReefMang]

Yes I have had a similar experience with Fritz as well. Its only happened once a few months back with a bucket that had excessive mag that came in at over 1600ppm. I thought at first that my test kit was faulty so I ordered new test kits. Red Sea & Salifert both showed over 1600. My tank was fine though and I did not have any negative effects that I could see. I still use Fritz to this day for one of my tanks.

 

[User1]

Fritz is not a new company. They have been around for a very long time. They were the OEM for other companies prior to going at it with their own brand.

Every salt manufacturer I know recommends that you mix the entire contents of the bag in one batch. There is a reason for this. They can only tell you the parameters that the salt will mix to based on the entire contents. Maybe that extra $11 should be worth it for someone such as you. They cannot guarantee consistency if you are only using part of the bag at one time due to settling. It's really hard for a large company to mess up a batch of salt. Typically all the elements are added by weight.

I called Fritz to inquire about their salt process. They make the salt in 2000 lb batches. For QC, they take a sample from the 1st box and the 20th box. They said they are more than willing to take a sample of your salt and test it. They have also gone as far to ship boxes all across the country and them ship them back to insure that the product is consistent and saw minimal to no settling issues.

Interesting, I have never thought about that with regards to mixing the entire contents of the bag in one batch. I mix a bit over 1/2 of a bag or whatever works out to 25 - 30 gallons with Instant Ocean.